Posted by The Punch on
A recent report that a self-confessed murderer and notorious member of the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha's killer squad, the Strike Force, Sergeant Barnabas Jabila Msheilla, a.k.a. Rogers, has resumed work as an intelligence officer at the Directorate of Military Intelligence, took the nation by storm.
A recent report that a self-confessed murderer and notorious member of the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha's killer squad, the Strike Force, Sergeant Barnabas Jabila Msheilla, a.k.a. Rogers, has resumed work as an intelligence officer at the Directorate of Military Intelligence, took the nation by storm. Rogers worked under the Chief Security Officer to Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, who controlled the Strike Force, an armed group the Abacha junta used to eliminate perceived political foes. Mustapha and others have been on trial since 1999 over their alleged involvement in the attempted murder of Chief Alex Ibru, publisher of The Guardian newspapers, on February 2, 1996. The government is relying on Msheilla's confession to try the various cases of state-sponsored murder that took place under Abacha.
During his appearances in court, Sgt. Rogers confessed to being the marksman that shot and killed Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, wife of the late Chief Moshood Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election. Rogers also confessed to shooting Chief Ibru. Mustapha, he said, made the Strike Force members to understand that the victims were 'enemies of the State." Military authorities have reportedly confirmed the stealthy recall of Rogers back to duty. 'Rogers was never indicted for any offence by the Army," Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Mohammed Yusuf, was quoted as saying.
President Olusegun Obasanjo, in September 1999, gave the go ahead for the prosecution of Al-Mustapha, Rogers and others for various offences, including the attempted murder of Chief Ibru. The trial is ongoing, while Mustapha and co. are still being held. As a star witness, the confessional statements volunteered by Rogers is indispensable to the trial of Al-Mustapha and others. The burden of establishing the guilt of an accused person is reduced with the kind of confession Rogers voluntarily made. The least Nigerians expected, therefore, was that Rogers would be duly tried and convicted. For his cooperation with the prosecution as a star witness, arguments may be canvassed in court, subject to the judge's discretion, that the minimum punishment for the offence committed be meted out to the accused person.
Even if the Federal Government had special interest in Rogers, the path of honour would have been to conclude his trial in deference to the rule of law. He could then be granted a special presidential pardon, as was done in the case of former Speaker, House of Representatives, Alhaji Salisu Buhari, who was impeached for certificate forgery. Another option is to enter a nolle prosequi to stop the case before judgment is delivered. The FG did so in the case involving Mr. Julius Makanjuola, a former Director-General in the Ministry of Defence docked over an alleged N400 million scam.
Nigerians are baffled by the desperation that drove government's clandestine reabsorption of Rogers into the Army. The palpable apprehension is that a cabal, in pursuit of a third term agenda for the President, urgently requires the services of Rogers to decimate the camps of political opponents, the same way the Abacha junta did. This is a huge moral burden that President Obasanjo, as a respected African statesman, cannot afford to carry.
The nation's military authorities have heaped shame and needless opprobrium on themselves by recalling Mr. Msheilla. How have the services of a self-confessed murderer become so indispensable in a country of 130 million people? Who stampeded the DMI into taking this unpopular decision? Why was the highly political move not resisted by the Army? Are there no longer men of honour and integrity in the service? The presence of Rogers in the military is a national embarrassment. It is an indication that justice and public morality have taken flight from the land. The government owes Nigerians an explanation concerning why Sgt. Rogers was freed, and for what reasons.